Preventing falls in the elderly - Essay Example

PREVENTING FALLS IN THE ELDERLY The debate on fall prevention on the elderly has been ongoing in regard to increasing health related risks of the group of people in the society. Community involvement and awareness among the population on the best measures towards prevention of falls among the elderly is highly promoted. Healthcare practitioners, home-based caretakers and the elderly need to develop positive attitude towards the issue hence the increasing scholarly works on the subject. Critical evaluation on the article Fall Prevention Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Community Stakeholders and Older Adults offers an insight into the appropriate mitigation approaches towards frequency of elderly falls.

Answering the following selective questions are enough to give an overview of key concepts in the article in regard to the topic.In this article, the main study question assessed whether there is increased awareness and availability of fall Prevention services offered by the employers to employees in Washington State that might help engage older adults in fall Prevention practices and reduce the adverse effects of falls.The participants in the survey study were employees drawn from senior-serving organizations in Washington State and older adults living in Pierce County, Washington.

This survey was conducted from July to August 2004This survey study was undertaken through randomized research design in which structured questionnaires were to be filled through telephone interview on employees and aged persons in Washington State.The survey concludes that messages that target the elderly persons should emphasize awareness on fall prevention in an effort to reduce health related risks and boost the wellbeing of the elderly in the community.ReferenceSharon S. Laing, Ilene F. Silver, Sally York, and Elizabeth A.

Phelan(2011). Fall Prevention Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Community Stakeholders and Older Adults. Journal of Aging ResearchVolume 2011 (2011), Article ID 395357, 9 pagesRetrieved on May 30, 2015 from: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/2011/395357/